1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particular to an electrical connector for a sheet-like connection member such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC), a flexible flat cable and so forth. All of these cables and circuit hereafter will be generally referred to as “FPC” for simplification.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,921,274 discloses a conventional electrical connector adapted for connecting an FPC. The longitudinal insulating housing of the connector defines a pair of slot respectively at opposite ends thereof. The back portion of the slot is between the top and bottom of the housing, and the front of the slot is running though the top and bottom face of the housing. A pair of retaining member has a forward-extending retaining portion retained in the front portion of the slot and a solder portion extending from the bottom edge thereof and out of the housing. The solder portion can only extend from the bottom edge except the retaining portion.
When the electrical connector is mounted onto a printed circuit board (PCB), the connector is often appointed at a predetermined place on the PCB. However, the retaining member is often made in different shape or size due to different needs, sometimes the soldering portion of the retaining member could not be soldered on a predetermined place of the PCB because of the restriction of the slot, which is not advantage for meeting the diversity needs of the user. Therefore, an improved electrical connector is required to overcome the problem.